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Hilary Duff's Baby Name Is A Global Hit

Mar 23rd 2012

twitter.com/hilaryduff

We watched Hilary Duff grow up on TV's Lizzie McGuire--and now the actress is playing a new role: mom. She and her husband, former NHL star Mike Comrie, welcomed their first child together on Tuesday. They named their baby boy Luca Cruz Comrie.

The name Luca is a rising star here in the United States. It first appeared on the Social Security Administration's Top Names List for boys in 2000. Since then, it has climbed steadily to No. 272. However, it's an even bigger hit around the globe. Derived from the Latin name Lucas, it's the equivalent of Luke in Italian and Romanian. A quick look at Luca's Namipedia page on BabyNameWizard.com shows that it's the No. 1 name for boys in Switzerland, No. 3 in Germany and No. 6 in Italy. (The alternate spelling Luka is No. 1 in Slovenia, No. 2 in Serbia and No. 3 in Republic of Georgia.) So will Luca continue to rise here in the States? Well, the long "u" sound should make it even more of a hit here in the U.S. The one hangup however is that Americans can't seem to get over the -a ending for a boy's name.

Celebrities before Hilary have embraced this name. Handbag designer Rebecca Minkoff and actor Colin Firth and Danny Pino all have sons named Luca. There's even a girl in the mix-- Luca Bella Facinelli is the daughter of soon-to-be exes Jennie Garth and Peter Facinelli. For girls, it's considered the English form of Lucy. Elsewhere in pop culture, you'll probably remember Suzanne Vega's '80s hit "Luka." If you hadn't thought of it already, it will likely be stuck in your head all day going forward. Sorry about that.

As for the name Cruz, it's derived from the Spanish word meaning "cross" or "crucifix." Its popularity has gone up and down on the charts for nearly the last century, but there has been a definite boost since Victoria and David Beckham named their youngest son Cruz in 2005. (Since his birth it has climbed from No. 515 to 321.) Another association you may have is of Academy Award-winning actress Penelope Cruz--or, as we like to call her, Leo's mother.

While we await the photo spread that Hilary, Mike and baby Luca are sure to do in coming weeks, in which they also share their baby name inspiration, we'll leave you with her happy first words about parenthood that she shared on Twitter (where she also posted the above photo).

"Welcome to the World Luca Cruz Comrie!" Hilary tweeted. "Tuesday evening, we became proud parents of a healthy 7 pound 6 ounce beautiful boy. He is surrounded by so much love!! Mom and baby are both doing extremely well. We are overjoyed and feel like the luckiest parents in the world."

So...how are we feeling about Luca or Luka? Is it in line with your name taste? Can't get Suzanne Vega's song out of your head?!? Let us know. And please weigh in Cruz as well.

Comments

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March 23, 2012 12:12 PM

By Anonymous (not verified)

It was hard for me to name my baby boy, because I wanted one that ended in -a to match his 3 sisters. I settled on Micah, and never considered the name Luca. It just wasn't on my radar- despite the character in ER. I love it. There's never to be a #5, but if there were, I'd have a name if he were a boy.

My oldest one is Luka. Pretty much everybody (including his grandma:)) misspells it as LuCa. I'm really okay with that unless it's a legal document. I understand that Luca is more traditional. In 6 years in the US I've met only one other LuKa, from a Lebanese family.
As for Susan Vega, what bugs me a little is that people assume the Luca in the song is a girl:)

Why do Americans have such a hard time with boys names ending in -a?? I am so proud of the name I chose for my son, Seneca. It is an ancient man's name and a family name, as well. But if I say the name, people look confused.

I dont know what crap you're talking about, but Luca is not the English form of Lucy, that's the dumbest thing I've heard.
Luca is italian, period. And its top100 for boys in England & Wales. So there you go.